Tuesday, June 3, 2014

North Carolina Amateur Week - Day 2

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"! Today is Tuesday, June 3rd and Day 2 of North Carolina Amateur Week. Today the course was closed to practice rounds only. The temperature this morning was 58 F and today was a "normal" day for my staff as we kept to our usual summer start time of 6:00 am. Today we mowed the entire course before play and tomorrow we will begin our split shifts for the remainder of the week with a start time of 5:30 am. Today was about mowing all short-cut turf again, touching and tidying up the place, tying up loose ends, and laying the foundation for the rest of the week.Today greens were mowed (single cut only), we collected moisture readings, and hand watered only where necessary. We also collected firmness readings to determine our starting point and establish rolling requirements beginning tomorrow (greens were rolled this past Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday).

Fairways were mowed again today at 0.475" utilizing a "traditional" or "shadow" cut in a clockwise direction. Tees were walk mowed in the 6-12 direction at 0.325" (0.025" lower than yesterday). Approaches, surrounds, and par 3 fairways were triplexed right-to-left at 0.375". Also, we completed the mowing of all roughs.We touched up the bunkers, freshly painted all hazard lines, and did the usual tidying up of things (string trimming, pulled weeds from native areas, trimmed irrigation heads, and etc.). Today it was also necessary to mow the clubhouse entrance, front lawn, and event lawn.

Tonight there was a function at the clubhouse featuring Bradley Klein from Golfweek. Mr. Klein was briefly involved with the golf course restoration/renovation in 2008 by Kris Spence. Bradley arrived around lunch time today and had an opportunity to tour the course before tonight's presentation. The audience featured many Carolina members and distinguished guests. Bradley's talk focused on our favorite architect, Donald Ross and he tied most of his presentation back to Carolina and the wonderful restoration work by Kris Spence and his team!

It was an honor to be able to attend tonight's event as it was a celebration of Carolina Golf Club. Tomorrow morning is "dress rehearsal" for the staff as it applies to morning setup for the remainder of the championship, so that's all for now as I am off to get a few minutes rest.See you on the course,Matthew WhartonGolf Course Superintendent

About Me

I am originally from Castlewood, a small town located in the southwestern corner of Virginia. I graduated from Virginia Tech in 1993 with a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and in 1999 with a M.S. in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences. I am currently the golf course superintendent of Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte, NC. Carolina is a 1929 Donald Ross design recently renovated and restored in 2008 by Kris Spence.